Genre terms – completing subject access in the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek uses various instruments for subject cataloging thus creating a broad base for subject access in its online information system. Classifying publications with the Dewey Decimal Classification, and indexing with subject headings taken from an authority file were, in 2012, supplemented with a third pillar: genre access is now given to fiction and children’s literature. This is done re-using data provided by the marketing agency of the German book publishing and selling trade. Based on a fixed list of genre terms for fiction and for children’s literature, the library created a special type of authority record for genres. Title data provided by the marketing agency are regularly imported into the cataloging system of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Genre terms contained in those data are matched against the authority records resulting in links between title data and genre authorities. Users now have additional subject access to a substantial part of the library’s collection.